Well this is absolutely terrifying.
A 72-year-old man is recovering after surviving a harrowing three-hour ordeal in which his boat was beset upon by crocodiles in the Northern Territory.
The man, believed to be from Bendigo, was fishing with a friend in a small aluminium boat at Saltwater Arm, about 36km north-east of Darwin yesterday afternoon. The pair had placed crab pots in the water earlier, and were in the process of retrieving them, when a crocodile deliberately capsized the vessel.
The man’s friend, thought to be 75-years-old, was trapped underneath the upturned boat. Tragically, he subsequently drowned.
The 72-year-old man managed to climb on top of the capsized boat, where his ordeal went from bad to worse.
Over the course of the next three hours, the man fought off a reportedly increasing number of crocs, all attempting to get at him and drag him off the boat back into the water.
He reportedly held the animals at bay by either throwing spark plugs at them, or by bopping them over the head with a spanner.
Eventually, the surviving man was able to get the boat across the river to nearby mangroves, where a group of other crabbers heard the cries for help and came to his aid. The body of his friend was also retrieved by the assisting boat.
The surviving man was flown to Darwin by CareFlight, suffering from severe shock, dehydration, and exposure.
Croc expert Professor Graham Webb stated that this kind of attack is exceedingly rare, given the particular circumstances.
“When you consider the number of crocodiles and the number of boats, attacks on boats are pretty rare.”
“I’m not sure what happened but if he could tip the boat over where people could end up in the water, that’s even rarer.”“The whole thing really sounds like one of those real chance events that you know you just can’t manage too well.”
The man was treated in hospital overnight, before being released this morning.
Source: ABC News.
Photo: Marka/Getty.
